USA > Indiana > Indiana Methodism : being an account of the introduction, progress, and present position of Methodism in the State; and also a history of the literary institutions under the care of the church, with sketches of the principle Methodist educators in the state . . > Part 8
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TN 1831, the Church in Indiana lost an able and zealous minister, in the person of Rev. Edwin Ray. He was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky, July 26, 1803; made a profession of religion at a camp-meeting in Clarke County, July 26, 1819. His father, Rev. John Ray, was for many years a noted Methodist preacher in Ken- tucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina : a man of remark- able personal courage and Christian zeal. In 1793, we find him appointed to Green Circuit, in East Tennessee. The three following years he labored in Virginia. From 1797 to 1800, he traveled extensively in North Carolina, and from excessive toil and exposure, he broke down,
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and had to retire from the effective ranks of the minis- try, where he had been an honored instrument in the hands of God, of doing much good. In 1801, he located, and returned to Montgomery County, Kentucky, where his family resided until 1831, when, in consequence of his opposition to slavery, he emigrated to Indiana. Al- though his family remained on his farm near Mt. Ster- ling, he re-entered the itinerancy in 1819, and for two years traveled Lexington Circuit, after which he succes- sively traveled Limestone, Madison, Danville, and Hink- stone Circuits. Mr. Ray settled some seven miles north of Greencastle, in Putnam County, where he died in 1837, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, esteemed and beloved by all who knew him. Edwin Ray had inher- ited the personal courage and moral heroism of his fa- ther. He was received into the Kentucky Conference in 1822, where he labored with diligence and success for two years. In 1824, he volunteered for, and was trans- ferred to, Illinois Conference. He labored with zeal and marked success in Vincennes, Bloomington, and Indian- apolis Circuits, and in Madison Station, where he had to check the tide of radicalism, that for a time threatened to sweep all before it. In the conference year of 1829 and 1830, his health having failed, he received a super- annuated relation; but such was his zeal for God that he labored half of that year in Terre Haute, notwithstand- ing his impaired health. The following year, though still sustaining a supernumerary relation, he was sta- tioned in Terre Haute, where he labored beyond his strength, and with marked success; and notwithstanding Methodism was feeble, he drew to his ministry the most intelligent and thoughtful, and made a profound impres- sion in favor of religion. Having finished his labors for the year, he started for conference, but had traveled only
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a few miles when he was taken severely sick, and stopped at the house of Mr. I. Barnes, where, after an illness of eleven days, he closed his earthly pilgrimage. His death was triumphant. He said : "Tell my breth- ren in the ministry that the religion I have professed and preached to others, has comforted me in life, supported me in affliction, and now enables me to triumph in death." A letter from his then venerable father, under date of November 11, 1831, only a short time after Ed- win's death, contains the following paragraph : "When I was told that Edwin was praying in another tent, I was much affected, and solemnly promised God, if he would convert him, I would give him up to Him all his days. The good Lord heard my request, and answered my prayer. The news of his death was not so affecting to me as a location. I would willingly supply his place with another son, if I had one, only to live as long and useful as Edwin. But the Lord has taken him home; bless the Lord!" Edwin Ray was an honor to so noble a father. A man of sound judgment, deep religious ex- perience, and well versed in the doctines of the Bible; open and frank in his manner, he found ready access to the hearts of the people in social life; earnest and im- passioned in the pulpit, his ministry was both popular and effective. Colonel John W. Ray, only surviving son of Edwin Ray, is widely known throughout the state as an efficient Sabbath-school worker, and an eloquent lay preacher.
Rev. Benjamin C. Stevenson, who had just been ap- pointed to Indianapolis Station, died in the Fall of 1831. He was a young man of marked ability and great prom- ise. Dignified in his deportment, cultivated in his man- ners, eloquent in the pulpit, and devoted to the work of the ministry, the Church had much to expect from him.
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He was converted at the age of sixteen. In 1827, he joined the Illinois Conference, and traveled successively Eel-river and Carlisle Circuits, and Galena Mission. In 1830, he was stationed in Madison, and in 1831, was ap- pointed to Indianapolis Station; but before he had en- tered upon his new field of labor, only a few weeks after his marriage, the Master called him from labor to reward.
In 1833, the Indiana Conference met in Madison, Indiana. At this Conference there were reported 23,617 members; eighteen preachers were received on trial, and sixty-eight preachers were appointed to charges. John Strange and Anthony F. Thompson had been called during the year from labor to reward.
Strange died in Indianapolis, on the 2d day of De- cember, 1833. He was in many respects a remarkable man. He evinced a singular deadness to the world, and a remarkable trust in Divine providence. He was a man of slender form, black hair, keen, penetrating eyes, a rich, musical voice,-clear and distinct in its tones, rising from the lowest to the highest key without the slightest jar. He was a charming singer. Graceful in manner and eloquent in the pulpit, he was a recognized power in the Church. Strange entered the ministry in the old Western Conference, in the state of Ohio, in 1810, when he was not quite twenty-one years of age, and spent his ministerial life in Ohio and Indiana. In 1812, he traveled Whitewater Circuit, which extended from the neighborhood of Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio River, to where the city of Richmond, in Wayne County, now stands. One of his appointments was at a fort on Clear Creek, a few miles north-west of where the city of Richmond now stands. Mr. Strange was a very punctual man. Once every four weeks he made his appearance at the fort, with his rifle on his shoulder.
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The country was at war with Great Britain. The In- dians were hostile, and it was very dangerous for a soli- tary man to travel through the country; but, trusting in Divine providence, and not forgetting his rifle, and keeping a sharp look-out for the Indians, Mr. Strange passed through the dense woods from one appointment to another, unharmed. His self-denial, and entire devo- tion to the work of the ministry, greatly endeared him to the people. His power over an audience was wonder- ful. In voice and gesture he was faultless. Oratory was native with him. No man was ever more truly born a poet than John Strange was an orator. Often, in his happiest flights of eloquence, he would lift his audiences from their seats, and hundreds would find themselves unconsciously standing on their feet, and gazing in- tently at the speaker. His descriptive powers were fine. When he was preaching the funeral of Edwin Ray in Indianapolis, who had been his intimate friend and associate, toward the close of his sermon, while describing the second coming of Christ, he represented him as descending in the clouds, bringing the saints with him. He stood erect for a moment, and, looking up- ward, cried out, "Where is Edwin Ray ?" Still looking upward, he exclaimed, in a voice that thrilled his audi- ence, "I see him; I see him!" And then, with both hands raised, as if welcoming him, and with a voice that seemed to reach the heavens, he cried, "Hail, Edwin ! Hail, Edwin! Hail, Edwin!" The effect was thrilling, and will never be forgotten by those who heard it. Strange was then sinking under pulmonary consumption, and in a few months he joined Edwin Ray "on the ever- green shores." The mortal remains of Strange sleep in the old cemetery at Indianapolis.
Anthony F. Thompson was a young man of promise.
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He entered the ministry in 1829, and closed his labors and his life May 19, 1833.
In 1834, the Indiana Conference met in Centerville, Wayne County. Members reported, 24,984 whites, and 229 colored. The missionary collections for the whole Conference amounted to $152.50. Three preachers located during the year, namely: Lorenzo D. Smith, Thomas S. Hitt, and Isaac N. Ellsbury; and three preachers had died during the year: George Locke, Ne- hemiah B. Griffith, and James Armstrong.
George Locke was born in Cannonstown, Pennsyl- vania, on the 8th of June, 1799. His parents were David and Nancy Locke. His great-grandfather and grandfather were both clergymen in the Church of En- gland, and his father was educated in reference to the ministry in the Presbyterian Church; which design, how- ever, he abandoned, and engaged in teaching. The mother of George was a lady of superior endowments, and a pious member of the Presbyterian Church. The family came to Kentucky in 1798, and settled in Mason County, but, two years afterward, removed to Shelby- ville. Young Locke was converted in a revival that occurred under the labors of a local preacher by the name of Edward Talbott. In 1817, he was licensed to exhort, and, shortly after, to preach. At the session of the Tennessee Conference for 1818, he was admitted on trial, and appointed to Little-river Circuit, and the next year to the Powell's-valley. In 1820, he was sent to the Bowling Green Circuit, as the colleague of Ben- jamin Malone, and with Charles Holliday as his pre- siding elder. During the year he was married to Miss Elizabeth B. M'Reynolds, a lady of fine cultivation and deep piety, and belonging to one of the best Methodist families in the state, and the following year he located.
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But, not satisfied in a local relation, his name reappears the next year in the list of itinerants, from which it is never after to be stricken until he is called to his reward. His fields of labor in Kentucky, after his return to the Conference, were the Jefferson and Hart- ford Circuits; on the latter of which he remained two years. Beyond the Ohio River, the country was filling up with remarkable rapidity. Not only from Virginia and Tennessee, but also from Kentucky, hundreds of fam- ilies, attracted by the cheap and fertile lands of Indiana and Illinois, had sought homes within their rich domain. Mr. Locke, believing that a wider field for usefulness presented itself in this new country, in the Autumn of 1825, requested to be transferred to the Illinois Con- ference, then embracing the states of Illinois and In- diana. His first appointment was to Corydon Circuit, where also he continued the following year. In 1827, he was appointed to Charlestown Circuit. His labors on Corydon Circuit had been crowned with signal success; but on Charlestown Circuit he was privileged to witness one of the most remarkable awakenings with which Southern Indiana has ever been visited. He remained, however, on this circuit but about six months. The General Conference of 1828 elected Charles Holliday, then presiding elder of the Wabash District, Agent for the Book Concern at Cincinnati; and George Locke was appointed to fill the vacancy on the district. This dis- trict, at that time, extended from Shawneetown, on the Ohio River, up the Wabash, on both sides, above Terre Haute some twenty or thirty miles, embracing an area of territory in Indiana and Illinois of at least a hundred miles from east to west, by two hundred miles from north to south. He traveled this district four years, receiving, much of the time, scarcely enough to pay
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traveling expenses. His wife, who had been engaged in teaching from the time he re-entered the traveling connection, supported the family, and rejoiced that in so doing she could enable her husband to preach the un- searchable riches of Christ. His slender constitution gave way under the labors and exposures endured upon that district, and, though he completed the usual term of service, it was about the last of his effective labor.
Some time in the Winter of 1831-32, one of the se- verest Winters ever known in the West, Mr. Locke was returning home, after an absence of several weeks. When he reached the Wabash River, he found it gorged with ice. He and another traveler waited at the house of the ferryman, three or four days, for a change in the weather, or in the condition of the ice; but as no change came, and as they were impatient to proceed on their journey, they resolved on breaking a channel through the ice, for the ferry-boat. Accordingly, the next morning, they ad- dressed themselves to the work with all diligence, and at sunset found themselves within a rod or two of the oppo- site shore. Mr. Locke was standing on the bow of the boat, fatigued and tremulous, breaking the ice with a rail. Striking a piece with all the force he could com- mand, it suddenly gave way, not making the resistance he had anticipated, and precipitated him into the river. As he arose, and was just drifting under the ice, his companions rescued him. Though the shock was a fear- ful one, and he was not only thoroughly drenched but thoroughly chilled also, he resolved to persevere in his work, and actually did persevere till the shore was- reached. He then mounted his horse, and rode ten miles to the next house; but when he reached there, he was frozen to his saddle, and speechless. The horse stopped of his own accord, and the family, coming to the door,
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and perceiving his condition, lifted him from his horse, and cared for him very kindly, until, after a day or two, he was able to resume his journey. Mrs. Locke had, for days, been anxiously awaiting the return of her hus- band, and finally yielded to the appalling conviction that he was frozen to death. A friend who was with her tried to assuage her grief by inducing her to look more upon the hopeful side, but she refused to be comforted. When he suggested to her that he should not be sur- prised even if she should see her husband that very night, she besought him not to trifle with her feelings by endeavoring thus to make her credit an impossibility. He had scarcely had time to assure her that he was far from trifling with her feelings, when the latch of the gate was lifted, the well-known footstep of her husband was heard, and instantly she was well-nigh paralyzed with joy in his arms.
Amidst all his manifold and self-denying labors, he never abated his habits of study. He redeemed time, not only for the study of systematic theology, but for general reading. He acquired some knowledge of Greek and Latin, and made considerable proficiency in the higher branches of mathematics. He continued his studies until a few weeks before his death, and had his books brought to him, even after he was confined to his bed. The General Conference of 1832, of which Mr. Locke was a member, divided the Illinois Conference, and constituted a separate conference of the state of Indiana. In the Autumn of that year he was transferred to Indi- ana, and was returned to Corydon Circuit. Here his health became much reduced, which led him to remove to New Albany, and engage with his wife in school- teaching. In the Autumn of 1833, he took a superan- nuated relation, and on the 15th of July, 1834, he died.
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He never recovered from the cold contracted from falling into the Wabash River. He died of consumption, after much patient suffering, and in the full confidence of be- ing welcomed to the joys of the Lord. His last words, which were uttered with his last breath, were, " Glory! Glory! Glory!" *
James Armstrong was a native of Ireland, and was brought by his parents to America when but a child. He was converted when about seventeen years of age, and attached himself to the Methodist Church, in the city of Philadelphia. He was licensed to preach in the city of Baltimore, in 1812. He emigrated to Indiana in 1821, and in the Fall of the same year joined the itinerant connection, in which he continued an able and efficient minister till the close of life, which occurred at his own residence, in Laporte County, on the 12th of September, 1834. Of him, Hon. R. W. Thompson says, in his " Fallen Heroes of Indiana Methodism :" " Armstrong was a man of immense power-strong, logical, and con- clusive. He threw his whole soul into his work; and if,
sometimes, he was not altogether precise in his style, yet at others he seemed almost moved by inspiration, so com- pletely were his words expressive of his correct thoughts. When he intended to strike a hard blow, he never failed to make it terrific, shivering the helmet of whatsoever adversary dared, in his presence, to assail the citadel of Christianity." (Indiana Methodist Convention, 1870.) Mr. Armstrong's ministry was very successful. God gave him many seals to his ministry in Indiana, and honored him, as an instrument in His hands, with laying deep and broad the foundations of the Church, in this new and growing state.
Nehemiah B. Griffith was a native of the state of * Sprague's " Annals," p. 610.
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New York. In the eighteenth year of his age, he came with his father's family to the state of Ohio. When about eighteen years of age, he was led to Christ, and into the Methodist Church, chiefly through the instru- mentality of Rev. W. H. Raper. He entered the min- istry in 1822, and continued, with great zeal and effi- ciency, until the day of his death, which occurred in St. Joseph County, August 22, 1834. Mr. Griffith was a very successful preacher. He was a clear doctrinal preacher; and he preached the doctrines of the Bible so practically and experimentally, and withal with such an unction, that his ministry was generally attended with extensive revivals of religion. His last words were,
"Sweet Heaven, I am coming!"
"Previous to 1832, all the settlements of Northern Indiana were visited by missionaries from Michigan, which was then in what was called North Ohio Confer- ence. Erastus Felton, in 1830, and L. B. Gurley, in 1831, preached in Laporte County. But, in 1832, there was made an Indiana Conference, and James Armstrong was appointed missionary, and superintendent of a mis- sion district. He settled on a farm near Door Village. James Armstrong was the evangelist of our Church in this country, influencing many Church members to move to it from the older parts of the state, and remaining in the country, as an enterprising missionary, until his death. Armstrong was a man of medium weight; his chin, lips, and nose sharp; eyes small, eyebrows heavy, forehead square and high, and hair thickset and dark. He was always neatly dressed in plain black. He had a good voice, with a free use of plain English words of Saxon origin; nothing of the Irish brogue, but much of the fire which, as he felt himself, he failed not to impart to others who gave him audience, until the bond became
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so strong between the speaker and hearer, that both were carried along with the force and beauty of the subject before them. He was called a topical preacher; and be- fore a promiscuous congregation, his memory, his imag- ination and tact, enabled him to conduct a controversy with great ingenuity, for success to any cause he es- poused. As a man and a minister, he attached personal friends, who liberally sustained his enterprises, and boldly defended his measures. Having been presiding elder over all the state of Indiana, from the Ohio to the Lakes, he was a herald of the Gospel whom God owned and blessed; and his untiring industry and influence, devoted as they were entirely to the organization of the Church in the new settlements, place him on the page of our history as the leading evangelist. In order of time the societies were formed: first, at Door Village; second, at Laporte; third, Union Chapel; fourth, Michigan City. At all these there were societies and stated worship be- fore the year 1837. The first meeting-house was at Door Village ; the second, at Laporte ; the third, Union Chapel; and the fourth, Michigan City; and from these there branched off societies in every direction." (Sketches by A. Wood.)
Elkhart Circuit was organized in the year 1836. S. R. Ball was the preacher. The first quarterly-meeting was held in the village of Goshen, January 9, 1836. The following were the preaching-places, as entered on the steward's book : Elkhart, Conley's, Warner's, Shel- ley's, Goshen, Gormell's, Elkhart Prairie, Wood's, Haw- patch, Burton's, Little Elkhart, Shaky Creek, Cross's, and White Plains.
In October, 1835, the Indiana Conference met in Lafayette. At this Conference twenty-three preachers were admitted on trial. There were sixty-five pastoral.
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charges, divided into seven presiding elder's districts, as follows :
Madison-A. Wiley, Presiding Elder.
Charlestown-C. W. Ruter, Presiding Elder.
Bloomington-Joseph Oglesby, Presiding Elder.
Vincennes-A. Wood, Presiding Elder.
Crawfordsville-J. L. Thompson, Presiding Elder.
Laporte-Richard Hargrave, Presiding Elder.
Of the sixty-five pastoral charges, nine were sta- tions, namely : Madison, New Albany, Jeffersonville, In- dianapolis, Bloomington, Vincennes, Terre Haute, and Crawfordsville. Six of the charges were missions, namely: Otter-creek, in Vincennes District; Cole-creek and Lebanon, in Crawfordsville District; and Fort Wayne and Deep-river Missions, in Laporte District.
Edward R. Ames was agent for the Preachers' Aid Society, which originated as follows :
At the Conference in New Albany, in 1832, it was announced that Colonel James Paxton, of Indianapolis, deceased, had bequeathed a portion of his property to the Methodist Episcopal Church in the state of Indiana, "to be employed in extending the work of the Lord in the bounds of the state of Indiana, helping the most needy preachers belonging to that Church, whether effect- ive or superannuated." James Armstrong was appointed an agent on behalf of the Conference to receive the same. Allen Wiley was also appointed an agent on behalf of the Conference to receive a similar bequest for the same purpose, made by Samuel Swearingin. These, with one or two other small bequests, laid the foundation of the Preachers' Aid Society of the Indiana Conference-the Society having been properly chartered by an act of the Legislature. With a view to increase its funds, in 1835, E. R. Ames was appointed its agent.
In October, 1836, the Indiana Conference held its
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session in Indianapolis, Bishop Roberts presiding. At this Conference, Indiana Asbury University was located at Greencastle. The Conference, having determined, for reasons that are stated at length under the head of "Ed- ucational Institutions," etc., to establish an institution of high grade under the authority of the Church, did, in 1835, agree upon a plan for founding a university. Subscriptions were taken up, and proposals made from different points in the state, with a view of securing a location for the university. Lafayette, Rockville, Green- castle, Putnamville, and Indianapolis were the principal competitors. After receiving proposals, and hearing the representations from different points, the Conference, at its session in Indianapolis in 1836, located the insti- tution at Greencastle. At this Conference twenty-four preachers were received on trial, ninety preachers were appointed to pastoral charges, and two to agencies. E. R. Ames was continued in the agency of the Preachers' Aid Society, and John C. Smith agent for the uni- versity.
During this Conference year, in the Summer of 1837, there was a memorable camp-meeting held in the bounds of Rushville Circuit, in what is now the southern edge of Knightstown, on the ground of Mr. Lowry. The at- tendance was large for that day. F. C. Holliday, then quite a young man, was in charge of the circuit. He had secured the attendance of a strong ministerial force, among whom were James Havens, E. R. Ames, J. C. Smith, Elijah Whitten, Robert Burns, C. B. Jones, Augustus Eddy, and an array of efficient workers of less note. The religious interest of the meeting was ex- cellent from the first. Mrs. Richmond, from Indian- apolis, by her remarkable singing, her fervent prayers and exhortations, added much to the interest of the
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meeting. On Sunday night, just after the lamps had been lit, and the audience called together for public worship, there burst suddenly on the encampment one of those fearful tornadoes with which our country is occasionally visited. In an instant every light was ex- tinguished, and the audience left in perfect darkness, save when it was relieved by the flash of the lightning. The wind leveled a track through the forest, just across one end of the encampment, as effectually as a mower cuts the grass with his scythe. The audience had been gathered just out of the track of the tornado. A beech- tree of considerable size, within the circle of tents, was blown down right toward the altar, which was covered with a frame shed. Large numbers were knocked down, either by the force of the wind or the branches of the tree, but no one was hurt. Two men, who were stand- ing under the tree, fell in the hole where the tree had stood ; a falling tree knocked a tent over them, that was just in the rear of where they stood, and yet they were rescued without a scratch. One entire row of tents was prostrated by the falling timber, and yet not a single in- mate hurt. A large tree-top was broken off, and lodged right over a tent crowded with people. So numerous and marvelous were the escapes, that they made a pro- found impression upon the minds of the people. The work of God broke out with increasing power on Mon- day, and many, doubtless, owed their awakening to the incidents of the tornado.
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